When an organization has chosen to document their processes, it can be a daunting task, even more so for those that have to read through the documentation afterward – including auditors and new employees. This is where the use of a Turtle Diagram can make things...

We’re going to take a short departure from our regular column on standards, to talk about techniques for managing your yard better, in the spirit of this issue on Operations. Do you have a process flow that you need to follow, but find that there are a lot of moving...

There’s been some talk at some of my clients lately about labeling – whether it’s necessary, or just another way to slow down production. (I know, some of you are beyond this stage, but it might be helpful for those who are still deciding whether to implement or...

A picture speaks a thousand words and in any language you speak, which is why Visual Management as a communication technique is essential, even if we don’t notice it every day. Visual management is a technique to help communicate expectations, performance,...

When there is not clear communication between team members it can result in duplicate efforts, defects or re-work of tasks already completed but done so incorrectly. Some supervisors find they are constantly on the go chasing tasks to be completed but not knowing...

Process mapping is an analytic tool for capturing the operation of an organization and create a visual map of the processes involved, the flow of information and deliverables. Its main goal is to create an efficient map that shows what is and is not working,...